Rays Lose for 17th Time in 20 Games, 13-5 to Angels

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Steven Souza Jr. got pulled after hitting a triple, Jake Odorizzi remains winless at home and the Tampa Bay Rays lost for the 17th time in 20 games.

Not much is going right for manager Kevin Cash’s club.

“Overall, not a very productive night for any of us,” said Cash after a 13-5 loss Tuesday to the Los Angeles Angels.

The matchup of two of the AL’s worst teams featured several gaffes.

Souza tripled in the third when his fly ball dropped between outfielders Shane Robinson and Kole Calhoun, and then scored on Corey Dickerson’s infield single.

Souza was replaced by Brandon Guyer in center field to start the fourth, and Cash said Souza is not hurt but declined to give specifics.

Souza said he was pulled for not running hard the whole play.

“I think the bottom line is I play hard, but right there I didn’t play very hard,” Souza said. “I got caught slippin’ and took for granted a routine play. Yeah, I got to third, but I could have easily scored if I was running hard. It’s a bit embarrassing. I’m not proud of it.”

Nick Franklin went from second to third in the fourth when Angels catcher Carlos Perez was charged with an error for overthrowing Tim Lincecum after a pitch. Franklin was thrown out at the plate attempting to score on Hank Conger’s grounder.

C.J. Cron homered twice and drove in four runs for Los Angeles, which overcame another shaky start by Lincecum for just its third win in 15 games.

“It’s always fun scoring runs,” Cron said.

Cron had a solo shot off Odorizzi (3-4) during a four-run second and a three-run drive against Enny Romero in a six-run ninth, his second multihomer game in four days. He had six hits, including a pair of homers, in Saturday’s 21-2 win at Boston.

Reliever Deolis Guerra (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings.

Odorizzi, winless in 10 starts at home this season, gave up seven runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Franklin gave Tampa Bay a 5-4 lead in the fifth on a two-run single off Lincecum, who allowed five runs and a career-high tying 10 hits over 4 2/3 innings. The ERA of the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner rose to 7.50 in four starts.

Logan Morrison had a solo shot in a two-run third for the Rays.

Tampa Bay dropped to 3-6 on an 11-game homestand, ensuing that the Rays will not have a winning homestand before the All-Star break.

SAN DIEGO-BOUND

Rays closer Alex Colome was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list and got even better news just the before game time, when Cash informed the right-hander that he became a first-time All-Star.

ALEX IN ACTION

Rays RHP Alex Cobb (Tommy John surgery) is excited about his first rehab start Wednesday night for Class A Charlotte. “I’ve put a lot of work into this point to try and go see if I can figure out how to be competitive again on the mound,” Cobb said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: CF Kevin Kiermaier (fractured left hand) will hit in an indoor cage Wednesday and targets a return right after the All-Star break.